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The Military's Green Tech Strategy

Above and beyond the benefits these projects provide to the military itself, they provide a meaningful boost to jobs and innovation in the private sector as well.

The DOD is positioned to become the single most important driver of the cleantech revolution in the United States,” says Pike Research president Clint Wheelock. “In particular, military investment in renewable energy and related technologies can help bridge the ‘valley of death’ that lies between research & development and full commercialization of these technologies.

Soladigm’s Klawuhn concurs, noting that the current alignment between the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense is a real boon to cleantech companies.

The DOE funds and steers national labs, and they are the research organizations that lead into some development of commercial technology, but then that technology needs to go somewhere,” Klawuhn explains. “So the government can either leave it there or use the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense to lead those technologies to the pilot and implementation stages. I’d love to see more of those pilot projects.

More pilot projects are indeed likely to roll out over the next two decades. Pike Research forecasts the annual U.S. military spend on renewable energy at $10 billion a year by 2030, and the DOD is committed to continuing to test and deploy technologies that will reduce its consumption of fossil fuels.

**Note: This is part two of a three-part series on the military’s foray into green tech. Please come back next week for the final installment.**

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It is great to know about the DoDs intention to use solar power. There has been research on using non toxic chemicals for manufacturing solar cells. I wish the defense establishments use them for their use after extensive testing of their reliability over extreme climate and weather conditions.

Glad to see that the military is still at the forefront of technology advancement as always. It seems the solar industry needs some accurate real world data to determine just how cost efficient it currently is. Military bases are an ideal place to gather that data, and the chain of accountability is trustworthy. The data would also help the civilian market decisions.

The Navy’s plans are just awesome. I think our full goal should be renewable gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and natural gas (i.e. not from the ground). So much research has been done on them, and so much infrastructure is built around them, it just seems the most cost effective way to energy security and environmental sustainability. This program seems to be a major step in that direction. Although, it will be a while, probably a decade or two, to fully get there.

Thanks to the military branches for leading the way, and thanks for the article. Looking forward to the part 3.

What’s most exciting is that the DoD’s clean tech revolution will take many forms. They will prove to naysayers “green and clean” means much more than just solar panels and windmills. As the author points out, the NAVY leads the charge. Next up for them should be Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. Base-load power created from the temperature difference in shallow and deep ocean water. So no need to ship coal and oil to far off tropical naval destinations for power plants. Just another way to cut the DoD’s fossil fuel consumption.

The Bahamas are currently leading the OTEC charge. Lots more info at The On Project.

This article provides numerous examples of the incredible benefit we all share because of the military undertaking a renewable energy strategy. Most important, it helps the military achieve the kind of energy independence that will allow it to continue operating regardless of fuel shortages or grid disruptions.

It is also heartening to see such a great example of a public/private partnership. Instead of relying solely on taxpayer funding for these programs, the military has been able to work directly with private contractors to help them delivery the best products possible. Because the military provides the finest proving ground for these technologies, the armed forces are helping move America forward while protecting its best interests and bypassing any risk to the public or their wallets.

There is a lot more going on than I was aware of. That is very good. Often, the best ideas come from the most seemingly unlikely sources. And I have a feeling that the positive results of these efforts will reach far beyond the military and into the daily lives of everyone.

Brilliant strategy for the solar industry to target the federal government as customers. Instead of getting a mere 80% subsidy from a combination of federal, state, and utility contributions, they can now get 130% subsidized–100% from the purchase contract and 30% federal tax credit.

Richer, simpler, and the end-users of the electricity will never see the bill or go broke trying to pay it!

And those subsidies would have come out of your pocket as a taxpayer whether the government bought the batteries, or someone else did. The difference is, as a taxpayer, YOU are the one that benefits from the savings due to the equipment changes—-if it were sold to someone else, THEY would benefit from the savings and you’d pay for the subsidy anyway.

The same principle applies to solar, wind, and other technologies that reduce fuel usage, substitute domestically produced fuels for imported petroleum, or increase efficiency.